RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media on international events, featuring a report on a last-minute failure at the NPT Review Conference in New York, as well as analysis of Ukraine’s new draft constitution and what appears to be a stabilization in Russian-U.S. relations.

Nuclear nonproliferation conference in New York ends in failure

The
influential business daily Kommersant reports that the
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in New York, which lasted for
nearly a month, has unexpectedly ended in failure: At the very last moment, the
U.S. and its allies blocked the adoption of its final document.

The
disagreement arose over one of the provisions of the document, on the need to
convene a conference on establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction
in the Middle East. That provision was fiercely opposed by Israel, which – not
being a member of the NPT – attended the conference as an observer, the paper
explains.

Most
Russian and Western experts agree that Israel possesses nuclear weapons,
although Tel Aviv neither confirms nor denies this, writes Kommersant. In the
opinion of a member of the Russian delegation at the conference, a PIR-Center
adviser, Vladimir Orlov, the situation whereby Israel, not being a signatory to
the NPT, is – via the U.S. – influencing the outcomes of an NPT Review
Conference “undermines the treaty.”

“There is
a growing risk of talk of leaving the treaty because it does not take into
account the interests of Middle Eastern countries,” Orlov told Kommersant.

Ukraine’s new draft constitution makes no specific mention of Donbass

The
centrist daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports that
the draft of the new Ukrainian constitution may envisage the possibility of
granting a special status to any region of the country. The paper writes that
the first regions invited to make use of this option will be Lugansk and
Donetsk, where a fragile ceasefire between Ukrainian government troops and
Russian-backed rebels is currently in place.

In an
interview for Nezavisimaya Gazeta, analyst Sergei Rakhmanin said that the
constitutional commission has taken into account the fact that a law on the
special status of the Donbass region, which was passed last year, runs counter
to the norms of the constitution.

“The
draft amendments to the constitution include a flexible wording which makes it
possible to grant additional powers to any region but not for good. When there
is a law, there are special powers of the local authorities and the degree of
influence of the central authorities that it sets. When there is no law, we
return to the general rules,” he said.

Experts
point out that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s team may be preparing the
public for a scenario whereby the territories of the unrecognized Lugansk and
Donetsk “people’s republics” will formally remain within Ukraine but will in
fact operate as independent republics.

The head
of the Ukrainian think-tank Penta, Vladimir Fesenko, says that as long as the
Lugansk and Donetsk people’s republics exist, the Donbass cannot be fully
integrated within Ukraine. For his part, analyst Sergei Rakhmanin said: “Some suggest
that the two sides are trying to agree on a list of critical conditions that,
if technically complied with, will make it possible to hold elections in the Donbass.”

Stabilization of relations between U.S. and Russia is diplomatic success

The Expert business magazine argues
that although there is so far no talk of Russia’s relations with the EU and the
U.S. returning to normal, the very fact that these relations have stabilized
can be seen as a serious success for Russian diplomacy.

A string
of visits by senior representatives of Western countries that had only recently
been calling for the isolation of Russia was perceived by Russian analysts as
proof that this policy of isolation has failed, says Expert. The U.S. and
partly the EU want to minimize the risks created by the Ukrainian crisis in
particular and a further rise in tensions with Moscow in general.

The
magazine recalls that the Obama administration adopted a very tough position
regarding the events of 2014 in Crimea and in Ukraine. However, the United
States’ attitude to Russia has begun to change. Expert largely attributes this change
to the fact that Moscow and Beijing have drawn very close lately. Washington
realizes that if this rapprochement continues, the whole U.S. strategy of
holding China back in Eastern Asia will fail. This explains why in May, the
Americans accepted the Russian format of the negotiation process, and U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Assistant
Secretary of State Victoria Nuland paid visits to
Russia, writes Expert.